Corner Melbourne and Edmondstone Streets, West End
There are certain foods that are my equivalent of a booster shot of good conscience. Anything 'organic', 'vegetarian', 'wholefoods' etc etc just make me FEEL healthy even if I only have one meal's worth. I'm not sure I believe all that stuff but I know it works at the very least on a placebo level. I strive to fill my body with something marketed to the health-oriented every now and again to balance the bad.
I'd seen mentions of Coco Bliss before but was under the impression it was too far away for me to just pop into. Luckily for me, a new Coco Bliss store opened up in West End, around the corner from Habitat and Hong Depot. It's only a 5 minute drive from my place with convenient parking so I managed to munch my way through a few of their menu items over 2 days.
Coco Bliss has a smallish shopfront but I love their window seating. It's great if you're stopping in as an individual (like me) because you can perch and street watch as you eat. There are some group seating options if you choose to eat outside. Many customers simply choose to get takeaway instead.
The first time I visited, the menu overwhelmed me and I picked under pressure. I had the Mighty Green juice and a raw pad thai.
Mighty Green juice - kale, spinach, celery, cucumber, lemon, apple, ginger, mint
The juice was actually much better than it might look and sound to the green juice-wary. It looks like a health tonic with its vibrant shade of green but it tastes like a gingery fruit juice that isn't too sweet. I was worried I would be able to detect the vegetable components (especially celery; yuck) but mostly all I could taste was lemon/apple juice and spiciness from the ginger. I quite liked this and wouldn't mind drinking it on a regular basis.
Raw (kaw?) pad thai
The raw pad thai was a disappointment to me. Pad thai is normally comprised of rice noodles, bean sprouts, egg, sauce and sometimes, meat. I'm not sure how this resembled pad thai at all, besides the presence of peanuts. The sauce had hardly any flavour and the body of this dish was sliced carrot and cabbage. It tasted more like a coleslaw without any dressing. On the plus side, I did feel extremely healthy eating it but in the end, my tastebuds filed a complaint so I took the remainder home and added some tuna for flavour.
Seasonal fruit - topped with Co Yo and muesli
My second visit to Coco Bliss was for breakfast. This time, I ordered the seasonal fruit with coconut yoghurt ('Co Yo') and muesli, plus a brownie to takeaway. The fruit salad was really good and I love, love, love Co Yo so it was a perfect mix. The addition of muesli made it nice and filling.
Brownie
I'm always wary of 'clean' desserts because more often than not, they taste of disappointment. I saved my brownie for an early morning breakfast before an interstate flight. I microwaved it for 20 seconds and it came out deliciously soft and with an itense cocoa flavour. It wasn't fudgey or sticky sweet like a regular brownie but I found it easier to stomach, especially for breakfast. It definitely didn't feel like a huge compromise. I'm not sure what Coco Bliss puts in their brownies but it was a win for me so I hope it's not too unhealthy.
I'm glad that Coco Bliss has opened up near me. I know I'll be popping back to try more desserts and smoothies. At the moment, much of the staff seem newly trained but I haven't had any mixed up orders so it's so far so good.
No comments:
Post a Comment